Senate Bill 2054

(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-3-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO
REVISE THE SALARY OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION AND TO PROVIDE THAT
THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION MAY ONLY INCREASE THE SALARY OF THE STATE
SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION UPON THE APPROVAL OF THE STATE PERSONNEL
BOARD; TO AMEND SECTION 37-3-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE
PROVISION AUTHORIZING THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO SET THE SALARY OF THE
DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENTS, ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENTS AND DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS,
MEMBERS OF THE TEACHING STAFFS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL OF THE
ARTS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE SALARIES OF ALL EMPLOYEES OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION SHALL BE FIXED BY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT, SUBJECT TO THE
APPROVAL OF THE STATE PERSONNEL BOARD; TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-39, MISSISSIPPI
CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY TO PAY THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF
PUBLIC EDUCATION A SALARY IN EXCESS OF THE SALARY OF THE GOVERNOR; TO AMEND
SECTIONS 37-4-3 AND 37-101-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE STATE
PERSONNEL BOARD TO PROVIDE THE STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES
AND THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING WITH A
NONBINDING ADVISORY OPINION ON THE AMOUNT OF SALARIES FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES; AND
FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

37-3-9.
(1) From and after July 1, 1984,
there shall be a State Superintendent of Public Education who shall be
appointed by the State Board of Education, with the advice and consent of the
Senate, and serve at the board's will and pleasure. He shall be the chief administrative officer for the State Department
of Education and shall administer the department in accordance with the
policies established by the State Board of Education. * * *From
and after January 1, 2006, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall
receive the salary that he was receiving on August 1, 2005. Such salary may be increased to an amount
established by the State Board of Education but only upon the approval of the
State Personnel Board. The State
Superintendent of Public Education shall have at least a master's degree in any
field and a minimum of five (5) years' experience in administration in the
educational field.

(2)
The state superintendent shall give bond in the penalty of Seventy-five
Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00), with sureties to be approved by the Governor,
conditioned according to law. Said bond
when approved shall be filed and recorded in the office of the Secretary of
State.

37-3-13. (1)
Until July 1, 1984, the Assistant State Superintendent of Public
Education, the directors, supervisors, clerical assistants, and employees shall
be selected by, and hold office subject to the will of, the State
Superintendent, except as provided in Section 37-3-17. The Assistant State Superintendent may be
authorized to act in the absence or disability of the State Superintendent and
shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the State
Superintendent. The State
Superintendent shall have the power to assign to any division such clerical
help as he may deem necessary and to discharge such clerical help among the
divisions at any time necessity requires, except as provided in Section 37-3-17.

(2)
From and after July 1, 1984, the deputy superintendents, associate
superintendents and directors shall be selected by and hold office subject to
the will of the State Superintendent of Public Education subject to the
approval of the State Board of Education.
All other personnel shall be competitively appointed by the State
Superintendent and shall be dismissed only for cause in accordance with the
rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. * * * The
State Superintendent, subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board,
shall fix the amount of compensation of all * * *
employees of the State Department of Education. All salaries, compensation or expenses of any of the personnel of
the department shall be paid upon the requisition of the State Superintendent
of Public Education and warrant issued thereunder by the State Auditor out of
funds appropriated by the Legislature in a lump sum upon the basis of budgetary
requirements submitted by the Superintendent of Education or out of funds
otherwise made available. The entire
expense of administering the department shall never exceed the amount
appropriated therefor, plus funds received from other sources other than state
appropriations. For a violation of this
provision, the superintendent shall be liable, and he and the sureties on his
bond shall be required to restore any such excess.

25-3-39. (1)
No public officer, public employee, administrator, or executive head of
any arm or agency of the state, in the executive branch of government, shall be
paid a salary or compensation, directly or indirectly, greater than one hundred
fifty percent (150%) of the salary fixed in Section 25-3-31 for the
Governor. All academic officials,
members of the teaching staffs and employees of the state institutions of
higher learning, the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, * * * community and
junior colleges, the State Superintendent of Public Education, and
licensed physicians who are public employees, shall be exempt from this
subsection. The Governor shall fix the
annual salary of the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development
Authority and the annual salary of the Chief of Staff of the Governor's Office,
which salaries shall be completely paid by the state and may not be
supplemented with any funds from any source, including federal or private
funds. Provided, however, that the
salary of the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority and
the Governor's Chief of Staff shall not be greater than one hundred fifty
percent (150%) of the salary of the Governor.
Furthermore, all professional employees who hold a bachelor's degree or
more advanced degree from an accredited four-year college or university or a
certificate or license issued by a state licensing board, commission or agency
and who are employed by the Department of Mental Health shall be exempt from
this subsection if the State Personnel Board approves the exemption.

(2)
No public officer, employee or administrator shall be paid a salary or
compensation, directly or indirectly, in excess of the salary authorized to be
paid the executive head of the state agency or department in which he is
employed. The State Personnel Board,
based upon its findings of fact, may exempt physicians and actuaries from this
subsection when the acquisition of such professional services is precluded
based on the prevailing wage in the relevant labor market.

(3)
The executive head of any state agency or department appointed by the
Governor, in such executive head's discretion, may waive all or any portion of
the salary or compensation lawfully established for the position.

37-4-3.
(1) From and after July 1, 1986,
there shall be a State Board for Community and Junior Colleges which shall
receive and distribute funds appropriated by the Legislature for the use of the
public community and junior colleges and funds from federal and other sources
that are transmitted through the state governmental organization for use by
said colleges. This board shall provide
general coordination of the public community and junior colleges, assemble
reports and such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

(2)
The board shall consist of ten (10) members of which none shall be an
elected official and none shall be engaged in the educational profession. The Governor shall appoint two (2) members
from the First Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an
initial term of two (2) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of
five (5) years; two (2) members from the Second Mississippi Congressional
District, one (1) who shall serve an initial term of five (5) years and one (1)
who shall serve an initial term of three (3) years; and two (2) members from
the Third Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an
initial term of four (4) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of
two (2) years; two (2) members from the Fourth Mississippi Congressional
District, one (1) who shall serve an initial term of three (3) years and one
(1) who shall serve an initial term of four (4) years; and two (2) members from
the Fifth Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an
initial term of five (5) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of
two (2) years. All subsequent appointments
shall be for a term of six (6) years and continue until their successors are
appointed and qualify. An appointment
to fill a vacancy which arises for reasons other than by expiration of a term
of office shall be for the unexpired term only. No two (2) appointees shall reside in the same junior college
district. All members shall be
appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(3)
There shall be a chairman and vice chairman of the board, elected by and
from the membership of the board; and the chairman shall be the presiding
officer of the board. The board shall
adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings and
governing the manner of conducting its business.

(4)
The members of the board shall receive no annual salary, but shall
receive per diem compensation as authorized by Section 25-3-69, Mississippi
Code of 1972, for each day devoted to the discharge of official board duties
and shall be entitled to reimbursement for all actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the discharge of their duties, including mileage as authorized by
Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(5)
The board shall name a director for the state system of public junior
and community colleges, who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. Such director shall be the chief executive
officer of the board, give direction to the board staff, carry out the policies
set forth by the board, and work with the presidents of the several community
and junior colleges to assist them in carrying out the mandates of the several
boards of trustees and in functioning within the state system and policies
established by the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges
shall set the salary of the Director of the State System of Community and
Junior Colleges. The State Board for
Community and Junior Colleges shall annually submit to the State Personnel
Board a list of salaries for its employees and the State Personnel Board shall
give a nonbinding advisory opinion on the amount of the salaries for the
director and other employees of the State Board for Community and Junior
Colleges. The Legislature shall
provide adequate funds for the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges,
its activities and its staff.

(6)
The powers and duties of the State Board for Community and Junior
Colleges shall be:

(a)
To authorize disbursements of state appropriated funds to community and
junior colleges through orders in the minutes of the board.

(b)
To make studies of the needs of the state as they relate to the mission
of the community and junior colleges.

(c)
To approve new, changes to and deletions of vocational and technical
programs to the various colleges.

(d)
To require community and junior colleges to supply such information as
the board may request and compile, publish and make available such reports
based thereon as the board may deem advisable.

(e)
To approve proposed new attendance centers (campus locations) as the
local boards of trustees should determine to be in the best interest of the
district. Provided, however, that no
new community/junior college branch campus shall be approved without an
authorizing act of the Legislature.

(f)
To serve as the state approving agency for federal funds for proposed
contracts to borrow money for the purpose of acquiring land, erecting,
repairing, etc. dormitories, dwellings or apartments for students and/or
faculty, such loans to be paid from revenue produced by such facilities as
requested by local boards of trustees.

(g)
To approve applications from community and junior colleges for state
funds for vocational-technical education facilities.

(i)
To appoint members to the Post-Secondary Educational Assistance Board.

(j)
To appoint members to the Authority for Educational Television.

(k)
To contract with other boards, commissions, governmental entities,
foundations, corporations or individuals for programs, services, grants and
awards when such are needed for the operation and development of the state
public community and junior college system.

(l)
To fix standards for community and junior colleges to qualify for
appropriations, and qualifications for community and junior college teachers.

(m)
To have sign-off approval on the State Plan for Vocational Education
which is developed in cooperation with appropriate units of the State
Department of Education.

(n)
To approve or disapprove of any proposed inclusion within municipal
corporate limits of state-owned buildings and grounds of any community college
or junior college and to approve or disapprove of land use development, zoning
requirements, building codes and delivery of governmental services applicable
to state-owned buildings and grounds of any community college or junior
college. Any agreement by a local board
of trustees of a community college or junior college to annexation of state-owned
property or other conditions described in this paragraph shall be void unless
approved by the board and by the board of supervisors of the county in which
the state-owned property is located.

37-101-7.
Within ten (10) days after the beginning of the terms of office of its
members, upon call of the Governor, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions
of Higher Learning shall meet in the City of Jackson and organize by electing
one (1) of its number as president, whose term of office shall be for one (1)
year or until a successor shall be elected, and shall transact such other
business as may come before the meeting.
When the presiding officer has voted and the result is a tie, he cannot
vote again to break the tie.

The trustees shall have authority to
appoint a nonmember as Commissioner of Higher Education, who shall possess the
highest qualifications as an administrator and research worker. The Commissioner of Higher Education shall
maintain an office and be responsible to the board for the efficient
functioning of the staff which the board may from time to time establish. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of
Higher Education to make constant inquiry into the problems of higher
education, to survey and study carefully the organization, management and all
other affairs of each institution under the control of said trustees, to make
report of all findings and recommend such changes as will increase efficiency
and economy in the operation of each institution, and to perform such other
duties as the board may prescribe. The
Commissioner of Higher Education shall be responsible for compiling all laws
and all rules and regulations of a general nature adopted by the board for the
governance of the various institutions of higher learning in pamphlet or loose-leaf
form. Current copies of such
compilations shall be furnished to all officials directly responsible for the
carrying out of such laws, rules and regulations. The expenses for such compilation and publication shall be paid
by the board out of any funds available for the operation of said board.

The trustees shall authorize the employment
of such other personnel as may be required from time to time to carry out the
functions of the board and may assign to the personnel so employed such
functions and duties and may delegate to the commissioner or other personnel
such powers of the board as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes for
which the board was established. All
such personnel shall be employed by the commissioner with the approval of the
board and shall hold office at the pleasure of the commissioner. The board shall also have the authority to
employ on a fee basis such technical and professional assistance as may be
necessary to carry out the powers, duties and purposes of the board.

The Commissioner of Higher Education and
other personnel employed by the board shall receive reasonable salaries
commensurate with their duties and functions, the amount of which shall be
fixed by the board. The Board of
Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall annually submit to the
State Personnel Board a list of salaries for its employees and the State
Personnel Board shall give the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of
Higher Learning a nonbinding advisory opinion on the amount of the salaries for
the director and other personnel employed by the board. The reasonable traveling expenses and other
authorized expenses incurred by the commissioner and other personnel in the
performance of their duties, together with other expenses of the operation of
the executive office, shall be prorated and deducted from the appropriations
for the current expenses of the several institutions.

SECTION
6. This act shall take effect and
be in force from and after its passage.